Bumble Bee Facts

If you spot a large and ponderous bee, black and yellow in color, in your garden, you can be pretty sure that it is a bumble bee. These fuzzy insects, which measure about ¾-inch to 1-inch in length, make a characteristically loud buzzing sound as they hop from flower to flower, flying somewhat awkwardly. These insects are very useful pollinators. So, here are some interesting facts about the bumble bee.

• To start with let’s compare the bumble bee with the honey bee, its distant cousin, with which it is often confused. The humble bumble bee, unlike the honey bee, is slow and gentle. Instead of dashing about everywhere, as the more streamlined honey bee does, the bumble bee kind of lumbers along as it collects nectar and pollen in the garden.
• While the honey bee’s body is wasp shaped, the bumble bee’s is furry and round. In fact, there are three types of bumble bee: the Queen, which is large; the female worker bee, which is smaller; and the drone or male bumble bee, which is comparatively tiny in size. Only the worker bees and the Queen have a sting.
• If you see a couple of nests of the bumble bee in your garden, you can allow them to remain there without any fear, since the nests they make are small, and hence they never swarm.
• As has been alluded to above, all bumble bees do not have a sting, as the drones, which hatch in the middle of summer, do not have any sting at all.
• The bumble bee nests in leaf litter or the soil, and a single Queen can lay about 8-12 eggs, which it does in spring. The workers that emerge can fly in weather that is very cool, which makes them very valuable as pollinators.
• Bumble bees produce just a few grams of honey at a time, just enough for feeding their young, hence their honey cannot be used for commercial purposes.
• Compared to honey bees, the bumble bee is far less aggressive. Usually, they never attack people at all, unless they feel threatened. Hence, if you see a couple of bumble bees in your vicinity, do not wave your arms about wildly. Just stand still and they will move away gently once they smell that you’re not a flower with nectar and pollen.
• Allow the bumble bee to inhabit your farm or garden, and you will be repaid for your kindness by them pollinating your vegetables, fruit and flowers. They are really harmless creatures, just going about their business of collecting nectar and pollen, and raising their young.
• Since the male bumble bee hatches in the middle of summer, there is a sudden increase in their numbers, which can frighten some people who are scared of insects. However, it needs to be kept in mind that the male bumble bee has no sting at all, plus they do not swarm.
• Like the honey bee, the bumble bee does not lose its sting, and dies if it uses it.
• Human beings armed with pesticide sprays are the bumble bee’s most harmful enemy. Like all other types of wildlife, the chemicals we use on the land are a serious threat to the bumble bee’s existence.